Uniting the Realms
by Jaivaramongolid
Summary: Instead of taking Loki from Jotunheim, Odin and Laufey arranged for Thor and Loki to be married when they were older in order to sustain a truce between the two realms. Will be Thor/Loki in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**I've been working on this for MONTHS and I finally gathered the courage to post it. This is my first adventure into Thor fan fiction, so I would appreciate feedback of any kind as long as it's not "This sucks" without telling me **_**why**_** it sucks. And I want to mention that I'm Norwegian, so English is not my first language.  
**

**Warnings (for other chapters too): male/male relationship** (if that's not your thing, you know what to do, although there won't be any until chapter 2 or 3), **child abuse** (I'm putting it out there because I want to be careful), **violence**, **blood...** There may be other stuff later, but I'll put a warning up in the chapter in that case.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any recognizable characters or places described in this story. They belong to Marvel. I attain the right to worship the Gods as my ancestors did.

**~ Uniting the Realms ~**

Odin burst into the massive ice hall that was the Jotun temple where he knew the Casket of Ancient Winters was held. The coldness of the air contrasted with the warmth of blood spreading down the right side of his face and he swiped angrily at the liquid to clear the vision of his good eye.

Behind him, his warriors lead the defeated Jotun king, Laufey, in behind them. The king had elected to not tell Odin anything, keeping quiet as he had been lead through the devastated city. The All-father did not need his information; he already knew from previous visits that their source of power was held within their temple, close to the palace wherein the royal family resided.

The All-father could see the pedestal where the Casket was located, the box pulsating with ancient magic, feeding it to the realm. However, his eye caught something else that was out of place. He would have missed it if it had not been for the fact that it moved, but there was a bundle of dirty furs lying at the foot of the icy pedestal next to the bodies of two grown Jotuns.

Turning slightly, he looked to Laufey who was staring at the bundle with something akin to disgust before his eyes shifted to the deceased Jotun, glaring at it with hatred.

Carefully, and ignoring the defeated king, Odin walked over to the pedestal and grabbed the bundle that had now started to squirm and emit sounds that sounded far too much like whimpering and small sobs. He could feel the coldness, even through the thick furs. He already knew what it was, and felt guilt well up inside of him because he knew that the war had made many children orphans or parents childless.

When he opened the furs that were stiff with dried blood, he stared into the unmistakable wide red eyes of a Jotun child. It was small, he realized suddenly, too small for a Jotun baby, even a newborn, which he suspected it was. He had a son back home, a healthy boy, and this child was much smaller than what Thor had been as a newborn.

The child made a small mewling sound and Odin smiled sadly down at it. It seemed sluggish and far too thin to have been treated the way a newborn should. He was not an expert on Jotuns, but he suspected that this was one of the runts that the Jotuns killed.

There were wounds on the child's brow and head in the shape of two circles and two vertical lines in the middle of its forehead. They were fairly recent; he realized when he noticed the amount of frozen blood surrounding them.

On closer inspection he recognized them as the royal adornments of Jotunheim. All who were born with royal blood had the same symbols carved into their skin. Laufey was not of royal lineage, but his consort, Nál, had been the child of the former king, therefore any children the two had together were likely to bear the symbols

_It must have been left here to die on its own or to be killed by my invading army,_ he thought to himself as his thumb gently stroked a circular pattern on the crown of the child's head, trying to quiet the whimpering.

_Or perhaps it had been taken here to be killed, _a small voice in his head told him and he looked at the two dead Jotuns on the ground. If he had been Laufey he would have left his child with an army, not two people.

"Your child," he said quietly, hiding his surprise, and turned around to face Laufey. The king barely spared the child a second glance and did not seem at all worried that the All-father was holding his offspring. It gave Odin a clear picture of why a royal child had been left alone in the middle of an invasion.

"You may do as you wish with the runt." The king growled at Odin, but the All-father ignored him and stared down at the tired child. It did not matter that it was a Jotun, it was innocent and suffering and therefore Odin would not do anything to it unless he could be helped.

"My adviser was to bring him here and finish what my consort could not." The king was looking at the dead Jotuns on the ground again. Odin saw the expression of sadness that crossed the king's face as he said consort. Had the great sorcerer Nál died during the birth of this child?

He caught the fact that Laufey had called the child a he, too. Jotuns were generally of both genders unless they expressed which gender they related to. All could bear children and all could sire, it was just a matter of preference whether or not they would like to be called he or she. They were treated no different regardless of which they chose. It was one of the things Odin admired about the race, the way there was no discrimination towards each other unless you were not considered big enough of a Jotun in size.

He was already aware that Laufey had called his other children his sons and did not comment that he called his newborn a boy. It did not matter after all if they were viewed as a boy or a girl, and perhaps it was some Jotun insight that made him decided that perhaps his child would sway more towards being a boy rather than a girl.

The All-father's eye looked down at the child again, suddenly realizing that his arms no longer felt bone-chillingly cold. When his eye found the face of the boy again, he saw, with great surprise that the blue colour of his skin seemed to be washing away, being replaced by Asgardian paleness.

The two kings exchanged a brief glance, both stricken with surprise, before Odin looked down again. His one-eyed gaze was met with brilliant green ones and a pale face, still filled with the royal markings. They looked alien and painful upon his skin, but Odin could not help but smile.

Laufey's child was a shape changer.

He turned to Laufey who seemed as shocked as the All-father was. Shape changing Jotuns were not unheard of, but the only way they could possibly change their shapes was after years of studying magic, and even then it was difficult.

Shape shifters across the realm were fairly common, but Jotunheim had never been privy or bothered with more magic than their natural ice magic and extensions of that. A Jotun child that could change shape from birth was a staggering thought and perhaps a frightening one too.

Odin's own mother had been a sorceress and the magic was woven into sorcerers' lives like blood ran through everyone's veins. Odin let a small spark of his own measly magic touch against the Jotun child and a green and gold magical aura seemed to glow around it.

A shape shifter and a born, potentially powerful, sorcerer, the king thought awestruck to himself as the green and hold glow disappeared, leaving the child smiling and grasping to reach Odin's own fading aura.

Laufey had severely misjudged the worth of his newborn child.

Quietly, Odin walked over to the surrendered king and handed the child over to his father. The moment Laufey's hands came in contact with the child's skin, it turned back to its natural blue shade and the child started to fuss slightly, tiny arms flailing in the air.

"Take the Casket." Odin commanded and one of his soldiers walked over to the artefact and grabbed it from the pedestal. When the soldier returned, Odin motioned for all of his soldiers to go and wait for him outside where the defeated warriors had probably gathered.

Once they were left alone, Laufey composure seemed to drop and he openly snarled at the Asgardian king with utter disgust. "What more do you wish to take from me, All-father?" he questioned and held the small child closer to his chest, trying to stave its small, pitiful cries.

That was a good question. Odin wanted nothing more than peace between all the realms, but from experience and history he knew that the Jotuns were not likely to give up without a fight, as they had just proven.

All offers of peace in the past had been rejected and met with more battles and more losses for each side. He knew that the Jotuns were not unreasonable, but he needed something to keep them in line. He had the Casket, but it was cruel to leave them here without its magical power to keep them safe.

The Jotuns depended on the casket for their magic and for healing. The casket also kept the land healthy and without it for a long time, he was afraid that Jotunheim would start to disintegrate. He did not want to cause them unnecessary devastation.

The All-father's eye travelled to the small child nestled in Laufey's arms. _He looks almost Asgardian, _he thought to himself and for a moment he imagined what the child would be like if it was allowed to grow up.

From the size that it was now, Odin guessed that it would grow up to become no bigger than an Asgardian. It would certainly not be as brutish and tall as its kin that much was obvious. His aura showed strong magic already now and Odin had no doubt that he would be a powerful sorcerer if he grew up.

He realized grimly that striking a fair and long-lasting bond between the two realms would require more than taking the Casket from them with a spoken promise to return it. The Jotuns did not trust his words and why should they? They had no reason to believe that he would return it willingly to them given time.

In the mean time, they would suffer daily without the source of their power in uncertainty. They could be cruel, but there were as many innocent as there were guilty among the race and Odin did not wish to condemn them all into hatred and misery. He could not afford to have another war against the realm, it would destroy the world and he had no wish to see that happen.

He needed something to show the king that he was speaking the truth, a way of trust. It would require personal sacrifices from both sides, he knew that and he was even ready for it. He would do almost anything to stop the constant battles between the two realms.

Odin smiled bitterly. "I want us to someday have peace, Laufey." He told the defeated king truthfully. "I take from you the source of your powers with the promise to return it one day." He saw the surprised look in the Jotun's eyes and counted it as a small victory for now.

As he said the next part he glanced at the child in Laufey's arms and thought of his own toddler safe back home in Asgard. Alliances were made every day throughout the realms to secure kingdoms and unite them. He had wanted his own son to be free to do as he wished when the time came for him to be crowned king and find a wife, but perhaps this was as good of an idea as anything.

Heirs could be secured easily through shape shifting or the natural Jotun way. There were many men that ruled lands and villages together in a firm partnership, and Odin was not against the idea, even though there had yet to be something of the sort ruling Asgard.

"I wish to one day strike a permanent bond between our kingdoms; a bond that will unite us and bring peace. I am willing to give something for this peace, if you are willing to give something in turn." He continued hastily before he could change his mind, and could see that Laufey was beginning to understand what he was speaking of.

"My son," it was spoken in calm confusion. The Jotun rested a large finger on the infant's cheek, stroking it softly, before he looked at the All-father again. "He has proven himself to be a worthy heir if he should survive his early years. His magic could do much good in the realm without the Casket to help us, and you wish to take him away from me?"

Laufey stepped closer to Odin, eyes boring into the pale blue one still left, as the Asgardian tightened his hold on Gungnir. "No," he realized with a grin forming on his lips. He stepped backwards as he spoke, "The All-father has other plans for my runt."

"Your son is a shape shifter and a sorcerer, he is also small and I do not think he will grow to be your size," Odin began and dreaded the Jotun king's response to what he was going to say next. "He would not be out of place at my court alongside my son."

The Jotun's eyes narrowed and his arms tightened around the small bundle to the point where Odin was afraid he might injure the child. "You said you did not wish to take him from me and now you have already changed your mind?" Laufey's raised voice was full of accusation as he reeled back from the smaller king, his eyes promising murder.

Odin sighed at the king's very justified mistrust before he revealed his true intentions. "As I said, I do not wish to _take_ your son from you. I am suggesting a permanent union between our sons."

Both kings were quiet for a short moment while Laufey's eyes widened impossible and his lips curled into a snarl that would not have been out of place on an animal. It was an expected reaction, one that Odin had known he would see.

"You wish for a son of mine to marry your brat?" The anger was clear in Laufey's expression and it spoke volumes about how much he hated the Asgardians when he was repulsed at the thought of the child he had condemned to death to marry one of them. Perhaps it was the indignity of having one of his sons live as a consort instead of as a king.

"I may be defeated, but I will not have anyone of my blood, runt or not, marry an Asgardian!" The king's raised voice made the small child start to whimper, and he quickly tried to quiet it. For a moment he always looked like a caring father, but then he looked back up to glare at Odin.

"I would sooner have you kill him."

The All-father closed his eye and sighed deeply. "Your son would link our realms together and if you raise him, I will return the Casket to you." He opened his eye and looked back up at the king, hoping that he would agree to the agreement. "He would not be treated ill; he would be respected as a royal consort and as someone of the royal line."

They stood in silence after what Odin had said. The only sound that could be heard was various sounds from outside the temple. Laufey seemed to be contemplating what Odin had said to him with great care, eyes locked to the squirming form of his child.

Odin was still not sure if he wanted the king to agree. He wanted the peace, but it would all depend on a small child that could very well die of natural causes that seemed to befall the smaller, weaker Jotuns. It was not the soundest idea he had ever had, but at the moment he did not know what else to suggest to Laufey.

"I accept," The Jotun finally agreed and met the All-father's eye with his furious red orbs. "I will raise him as best as I can, but I will not make promises." The king warned and stroked the cheek of his child with a detached look, "You may believe we kill those born small out of tradition and because we find them unworthy," his red eyes narrowed as they looked down at the All-Father again. "In truth, it started out as mercy." He set Odin with a knowing look as if to say that the chances of the child surviving were lesser than those of a regularly born child.

With a breath he did not know he had been holding Odin straightened himself to his full height before he walked closer to the Jotun. "I will only let them marry when they are both of age and to make sure that this will work, I will grant your son access to Asgard when he is older to befriend my son. You may call upon Heimdall if the situation is dire and your son's life is threatened."

The rest of their settlements that day seemed to go smoothly. Laufey's son would be allowed to enter Asgard when Odin saw that he was old enough to come, and from that day forward, if Thor liked him, the child would be allowed to enter the realm freely. They would be married when both had turned twenty one and then the Jotun child would spend the rest of his days in Asgard with Thor. Naturally, if the truce held he would be allowed free travel between the two realms to visits his family and home world.

The guards opened the heavy doors to the temple and before he left, Odin turned around, leaning heavily on Gungnir. "I expect you to treat him well, Laufey." he warned before he left the king alone with his son.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Later when Odin and his warriors returned to Asgard, the first thing he did was to go to his son's chambers. He was slowly starting to wonder if the marriage had been the best idea. He may have let his compassion for the small child, and his fatigue from the constant battling get the better of him.

However, if it turned out that Laufey held up his end of the bargain, Odin had an inkling that it would work. It all came down to how Thor and the Jotun child would react when they met and were told of this. Technically, Odin had the right to make them marry, but he would much rather that they got to know each other and then hope that they would not react to violently when they were told about the marriage.

He stopped in the doorway of Thor's room. Frigga was already there, cradling their child in her arms and she smiled when she saw her husband in the doorway. Odin smiled kindly back at her before he entered the room.

"They say that you have made peace with Laufey." She said as he came over to her, carefully planting a kiss on her cheek and putting a hand on her back. She put one of her hands on the left side of his face, smiling sadly as she noted the golden piece sitting where his eye should be. She did not ask him; perhaps she had accepted that to end the war with Jotunheim, something had to be sacrificed.

Odin gave a small sigh and knelt down next to his family, putting a hand on Thor's. "We came to an agreement," He murmured as Frigga put her hand around his back. "We both put something precious to us into the truce." He continued to tip toe around the subject and noted that Frigga's brows pulled together in worry.

He rose and carefully took Thor from her hands, cradling the boy to his chest. Frigga rose as well and gave him a hardened look. "What sort of truce did you make with him?" he could hear the tinge of worry in her voice, and hated the lengths he had to go to ensure the safety of the nine realms.

He planted a small kiss on Thor's cheek before he braced himself for the inevitable fury he would receive from Frigga. She had never treated him like a king, and that he was grateful for. It was one of his bigger assets, having someone who could speak their mind when he went too far, or did not go far enough.

"We arranged for our children to be married when they are of age."

The reaction was expected; Frigga slapped Odin across the cheek, not caring that it was the king of Asgard himself. Her accusing blue eyes bore into him. "How dare you?" she hissed at him, careful not to wake Thor who had yet to stir. "You wish for our son to marry a cold, bloodthirsty giant?" she wouldn't allow her sweet child to be bound to one of their enemies!

"Far from it," Odin replied and stared down at his livid wife. He walked over to the bed and placed Thor upon it, covering him with blankets and furs. He did not turn to her; instead he looked down at his son. "I found one of Laufey's children, abandoned in their temple." He rose to face his wife again who was still glaring at him. "It is small, smaller than Thor when he was but a newborn; a runt. I believe it was born a few days ago, and if my assumptions are right, I suspect Laufey had abandoned the child out of shame; left it to die on its own accord so he would be rid of it."

Frigga frowned and her anger seemed to lessen, replaced by pity. "Is – is it a boy or a girl?" she asked quietly as she stared at her own child. Odin bent down to her level and took her hand in his own before he spoke again.

The people of Asgard were not as educated when it came to the other races as they could be, especially the Jotuns. It was not _common_ knowledge that they were of both genders rather than just the one, although those who had access to the royal libraries could read about it.

"The Jotuns are of both genders, my queen." He explained to her with a small smile as he saw the surprised look on her face. "Laufey called it a boy, but it is hardly of importance, is it? He is also a shape shifter; he turned himself into an Asgardian child while I held him and he also possesses powerful magic for someone so young."

He drew in a breath before he continued. "I believe that with Laufey's son we can bring about a permanent peace. Laufey agreed with me on this and we have decided to introduce Thor and his son to each other when they are older."

"I thought the Jotuns killed the children who were born different." Was all Frigga could say at the moment. She tried to dwell on the difference between the Jotuns and the Asgardians at the moment and decided to ask more about her son's future consort.

"They do," Odin confirmed with sadness in his eye. The Jotun were their enemies, but he would never condone murdering children because they were born different. "But Laufey saw his son change shape in my arms and with the agreement that I would return the Casket of Ancient Winters to him after our children have wed, I believe I may have spared the child from such a fate."

The queen realized that his husband had saved an innocent child, and possibly found a way to bring about permanent peace with Jotunheim. They had been at odds with the cold realm for as long as anyone could remember. Laufey's ancestors had been as jealous as the king of Asgard's power and riches.

Who was she to deny an end to the slaying of Asgardian warriors? She had seen enough widows and fatherless children to last her a lifetime as the result of the war with Jotunheim. Their suffering could be brought to an end if she let her son marry a Jotun. Thor would not have to leave Asgard and _he_ would be king, nothing had to change save for the Jotun consort he would have.

She was not at peace with the idea and loathed that Odin could dictate the future of their son like this. But then again, she and Odin had not married out of love rather than necessity and they had ended up happy together. Perhaps it would be the same for Thor and the Jotun child. At least she hoped so.

Sighing, she said; "I am angry with you and I hope you know what you are doing," her voice was calm, but she made her disappointment known through it. "But if you are truly sure about this, and that it will bring peace, then who am I to oppose you?"

"You are far too kind," Odin told her with a smile that faltered when he saw the glare that she gave him. "I know that you do not approve entirely, I can see that, but it is for the greater good."

She nodded wordlessly, still glaring slightly at her husband, but the intensity of it lessening. He had already made the deal with Laufey so they could not change it. She would just have to hope that it would not turn bad.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

He ignored the angered glares of his defeated people as he made his way back to the palace, flanked by a handful of guards that had found him in the temple after the All-Father had made his leave. Their red eyes seemed to be fixated on the small body held securely in his arms, wondering what the king was doing with the small child, wondering if this was the newest addition to the royal family which they had yet to see.

Laufey stopped once he reached the top of the stairs and turned around, facing the masses of warriors and civilians that had gathered below him. They were injured, frightened and defeated and needed something to help them feel that they had not lost everything, even though it was not far from the truth.

Nál had always been the better one with speeches, but he no longer had his consort to comfort his people in this dire time. He drew in a breath and tried to think back to the many speeches that Nál had made over the years, drawing strength and inspiration from them.

"My citizens," he shouted as loudly as he could, voice echoing off the ruins of the once mighty city. "The All-Father has driven us to our knees. He has taken from us the Ancient Winters and my consort." He watched as they all bowed their head as a sign of grief when they heard of Nál's passing and felt honoured that they would still do this after he lead them into failure.

"He has promised me the return of the Casket in time, but I do not know when." He could see the despairing and angered expressions that the masses wore and quickly turned his own gaze downwards to his newest son, holding him tighter, but not obscuring him from anyone's view.

"In the mean time, we must be valiant and rebuild what the All-Father and his armies have destroyed," he looked up as he said this and held the gazes of several Jotuns in the foremost row. "And welcome your new prince." He tried to make the small child visible to his people without rousing him from his fitful sleep.

Mutters erupted from the crowd, disbelieving faces that eyed the child with disgust and pity. Those who were unfortunate enough to experience the birth of a defective child rarely recognized it publically as their own, much less the royal family. Most liked to deal with it in their own way, privately.

"He has powerful magic within him, even the All-father saw it and yet he let him live." Disbelief spread across the crowd again and a few declarations of "death to the All-father could be heard. "He has survived these past few days and if he grows he will be a powerful asset to us, despite his _diminutive_ size." He snarled in the direction of those who were watching him in disgust, because despite what he had felt at first, it was still their prince and they had no right to look that way in public in front of their own king.

"Injured may be taken to the healing houses and I wish for all mages and healers to be stationed there for the time being. I will converse with the counsel and decide what to do next."

He did not linger after finishing his speech; instead, he walked into the citadel with his guards following on his heels. "Find my sons," he snarled at them without turning around. "I will be in the royal quarters." He informed the guards that stayed and felt them stop behind him, knowing that he did not want to be followed. "And find someone to prepare Nál for his send-off."

The child in his arms made a small sound and his face scrunched up, his small hands tightening into small fists. Laufey placed a finger on his cheek and stroked it carefully and watched as his face seemed to smoothen again with the action. A small attention seeker, apparently, Laufey thought as he let the small one try to grab his much too big finger.

He entered the quarters belonging to his family and made his way towards the small room next to his and Nál's that had not been used since Býleistr had been a babe, ten years ago. It contained a large crib carved into the icy wall of the room and the soft pillow and blanket still remained as newborns tended to become cold as they had not yet grown accustomed to their environment.

Laufey placed his small child into the old crib and tucked the thin cloth around him. It made him seem even smaller when he was drowning in the large sheet and the sheer size of the crib. The baby awoke and made a small whimpering sound as it looked up at him with big red eyes, flailing its arms and legs beneath the cloth.

When one of the royal guards had told him that Nál had given birth to their new child, he had been overjoyed until the moment the guard proceeded to tell him that his consort's condition was grave and that the healer present did not know if Nál was strong enough to make it through this time.

By the time he had hurried back to the citadel, it had already been too late. Nál was lying dead on the floor of the great hall, an ice knife coated in blood hanging loosely from his fingers and surrounded and covered in blood. He had knelt down beside his beloved consort and promised death to the All-father and the entirety of Asgard. Surely, it was their fault that he could not have been there with him when their child was born and save Nál from dying?

"My lord," a voice came from behind him and he felt a tentative hand on his shoulder. He turned his head to see one of the royal healers standing with a small bundle of white furs held in her arms. The bundle seemed to be squirming and Laufey realized that this was his newest child.

The healer glanced down into the bundle with a weary look. "The child it is..." the healer started quietly, but Laufey silenced her and grabbed the bundle, belatedly realizing how small and light it was and that the healer backed away slowly when he grabbed it from her.

He peeled back the layer of bloodied furs that covered the child and only then realized the healer's hesitation. The child was so small, that was the first thing he noticed, and it could almost have fitted just into his palm. The dark azure of his face was coated in blood and now he knew what Nál had used the knife for. The royal symbols were carved into his forehead, just as it was on Helblindi and Býleistr, only newly made.

How could the powerful sorcerer Nál and the mighty warrior Laufey have produced such a weakling? The child cried out as if offended by Laufey's thought and he curled his lips in disgust.

"My king!" he whirled around to find one of his advisors hurrying into the hall, stopping dead in his tracks when he noticed the dead consort on the ground. Laufey rose from the floor, child still held in his arms. He strode over to the advisor and placed the child into her arms. "Take this and get rid of it in the temple." He growled and turned to the healer again. "Take him to the burial chambers." He said to the healer who nodded and bowed before she began to recite a spell.

Back in the present he opened his eyes and stared down at the child again, realizing that perhaps he had been hasty in his decision to have it killed. He should have known that eventually a child of Nál would have the same magical powers. It was only unfortunate that to be given the powers, his size and strength needed to be diminished.

He could not kill the child now that he had made the deal with the All-Father. If he did, he would never return the Casket and Jotunheim would forever be powerless and weak at the mercy of all the other realms.

"I hope you will not disappoint me, Loki."

Nál had named the child some months ago, despite not having done so with their previous children. Thinking back he realized that many things had been different from his other pregnancies.

He had been more in touch with the child this time, always stating that this child would be born with powerful magic. Laufey had never wanted to believe the claims of a magical child simply because they were few and far between. Just because Nál was a powerful sorcerer himself did not mean that any of his children would inherit this. Magic was not necessarily hereditary and more often than not it was random. Laufey had not wanted to hope for something that may never happen.

Now that he knew the child was magical he knew that he needed the best sorcerers in the realm to teach his son how to control the magic within him. He would not send him away to the cold caves in the north where he could not keep an eye on the progress. He wanted to teach him how to bring the Asgardian prince to his knees if he should have the chance to and how to help the realm with his powers.

Heavy footsteps from behind him interrupted his train of thought and he turned his head to see the shapes of his two older sons entering the small room. He steeled himself for their reaction to the death of their mother and the news of their brother.

Helblindi was bruised and bloodied, looking a bit worse for wear, but not too injured. His middle child looked unharmed – Laufey knew that it was because he had been hidden away in the catacombs beneath the city – but he was openly crying, the tears turning to ice on his cheeks.

His eyes briefly glance back to Helblindi and realized that his oldest seemed to be saddened as well. His eyes were downcast and his hand seemed to be place gently on his younger siblings back as a comforting gesture.

Someone must have already told them the news of what had befallen their mother. He should have realized that news would travel fast to those who had not heard his announcement.

"Is it true?" asked Helblindi in a voice that was so laden with sadness, anger and tiredness that it was hard to believe that he was just an adolescent.

The king nodded slowly before he heard a strangled sob come from Býleistr. He quickly reached for his son and engulfed him in a tight hug. He was shaking badly and sobbing quite openly which only made the king tighten his arms around his poor child.

He saw out of the corner of his eye that Helblindi was standing over the crib, jaw clenching and hands curled into fists. He let go of the sniffling Býleistr and ushered him over to stand next to his oldest.

"He gave birth to the child before he perished."

His oldest turned around to face Laufey with angered eyes. "He died for this?" he yelled outraged, "It will be dead in a matter of months!" the child seemed to awaken at the sound of his brother's shouting and whined softly. Býleistr was quick to reach his hand into the crib and let the infant try to clumsily grab his fingers.

"Nál's last action on this world was to carve the royal symbols into his skin. He wanted this child to live, despite being obviously a runt. Do you wish to defy your mother's last wish by not believing that someone who inherited his magical powers could survive?"

Helblindi's anger seemed to lessen slightly at the mention of Nál and he was about to retaliate when he was interrupted by a cry of surprise from Býleistr. They both turned to see that the newborn was holding onto one of Býleistr's fingers and the skin on the older boy's hand was distinctively not blue anymore, it was as white as the new snow.

"Your mother, through and through" Laufey remarked sadly and looked to Helblindi, whose eyebrows were raised high. He took the opportunity of Helblindi being dazed to speak again. "I was going to have him killed after I found him, but the All-Father made me reconsider after we both saw him turn his skin pale like an Asgardian," the king admitted as he watched Býleistr's skin return to its normal colour. "Your mother did not want him dead either. She carved the royal symbols into him, something which Helblindi will remember that we don't do before the children are older."

Býleistr wiped icicles away from where tears had frozen on his cheeks and stared defiantly up at his brother. "He's our younger brother and the last thing we have left of Mother," he told Helblindi who looked away from his younger brother's expressive eyes. "I do not wish to lose both in the matter of a few days." He said, honesty coating his voice.

Laufey was well aware that Býleistr did not have the same information on the subject of the weaker born Jotuns and he did not wish to tell him that his newest brother may die before he even had a chance to reach the same age as his older brother.

Helblindi finally looked at his brother with tired eyes before he spoke. "You should have lt him die," He glared towards Laufey at the end and the king wanted to speak to his son alone about the matter, without Býleistr there to listen to them.

"Býleistr, would you fetch a healer for your brother?" the smaller boy seemed slightly confused at the request, but he hurried out of the room nonetheless, leaving Laufey and Helblindi alone.

The king drew in a deep breath and touched the side of the wall with his hand. A thick sheen of ice covered the entrance to the small room, blocking out most of the light too. He wanted to do this in peace, without anyone to eavesdrop, especially Býleistr.

Helblindi looked confused, but did not move at all. "Are you going to tell me that letting him live was a good idea?"

"Perhaps"

His oldest scoffed loudly. "You of all people should know what happens to runts, you've seen the distraught parents come running to you when their child starts to deteriorate."

Yes, Laufey did recall those moments. Once in a while some parents thought that their child would be able to grow up, despite being small and sickly, but they almost always changed their minds when their child was constantly deathly sick and not able to even eat or play.

"Loki has powerful magic," he told his son who seemed to only sigh at the statement. "He should not have survived on his own these last few days and yet he did. Healers can use their magic to heal others, but they can also use it to heal themselves."

Laufey stepped closer to Helblindi, looming over his son. "I think he will be a fighter and more equipped to survive than many of the others. Besides, the All-father has promised to help if the situation should become too dire for us to handle."

Helblindi scowled at the mention of Odin, but his expression softened after a few moments and he looked down at the icy ground and blinked a couple of times. "Býleistr was right; I don't want to lose Loki as well... I hope your _assumptions_ are right."

"We will just have to have faith in your brother," he told his son. It was not much of a comfort, but he had never been good at comforting the children. He was a warrior, through and through. He did put a hand on his son's shoulder and squeezed it gently.

"Now run along and find your brother," he said and dispelled the ice that was blocking the exit. "I need to feed the little one before he starves." Helblindi nodded before he left slowly, leaving Laufey alone.

The king turned and went over to the crib. Loki seemed to be sleeping, despite all the noise they had been making earlier, his small chest rising and falling slowly. He ran a finger over the wounds on his son's brow, tracing Nál's handiwork.

"I truly hope that you survive, little one," he admitted softly, "You would be very valuable to me and the realm, and I do not wish to go against your mother's last wish."

**A/n: Okay, I wanted to get the arranging of the marriage out of the way as soon as I could. I tried to show why Odin would suggest it and all that. Also, Nál is actually another name for Laufey (who was also a woman in mythology), but I decided to use that name instead of Fárbauti. I don't really know why, I just did.**


	2. Chapter 2 Part 1

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed, put it on favourites and alerts etc... I love you all, even those who just lurk around! I want to thank Melilacdawn for telling me that I had disabled anonymous reviews, I had no idea. Sorry if you got the alert of a new chapter up twice, I accidentally uploaded the wrong document.  
**

**I don't think it's clearly stated, but Loki is ten in this part and Thor is twelve. There's a two year gap between them.**

**~Uniting the Realms ~**

**Ten years later…**

Thor sat next to his father in the vast royal libraries. He was looking around nervously, squirming in his seat and trying not to look at his father who was sitting across from him in a large chair with his hand on a stack of books that had been placed on the table beside his chair.

He did not have the faintest idea why his father had taken him to the library of all places. Thor was not one for books and his father knew that better than anyone, having to constantly get new tutors for his unruly son who would rather pretend to be fighting all sorts of monstrosities instead of sit down and learn.

"Thor, would you sit still, please?" Odin's voice startled Thor and he went still in his seat. "I have brought you here because I have some news for you," he began and Thor swallowed thickly. Had he found out about the trick he and his friends had played on Torbjørn earlier that week? No, he would not have brought him to the _library_ if he was going to punish him.

"Do you recall why I asked your tutors to teach you about Jotunheim?"

Thor nodded. Of course he recalled why he had to endure long, tedious hours of learning about the monsters and their realm, not that he actually attended most of these lessons. "Yes, because one of the princes will come soon to learn about us."

His father leaned back against the chair and placed his hands in his lap. "I conversed with King Laufey and we decided that his youngest, Prince Loki, will be coming to Asgard in two days time."

The prince froze in his seat and stared straight ahead. He had known about this for quite some time, but after it had been postponed so many times he was starting to believe that the day would never come. To be honest, he had hoped that the day would never come because as much as he wanted to see a Jotun with his own eyes; he did not trust them enough to enter the realm.

"Why are you telling me this? And why are you even letting it enter? They are dangerous and I thought seeing as it took so long to arrange that you had changed you mind."

Odin huffed at Thor's response and leaned forward, resting his hands on his knees. "I am telling you because Prince Loki is only two years younger than you, and I had hoped that you would let him join you tomorrow when he arrives. And I am letting him enter because I think it is a good idea that we learn more about each other's cultures and customs. Lastly, they are no more dangerous than you or me, Thor. Just because the warriors tell you that they are giant monsters intent on killing anything in their path, does not mean they are."

Thor caught the angered tone that Odin slipped into at the end and wondered how his father knew that he and his friends liked to sneak off and listen to the stories that the warriors told about the wars they had seen. His parents had always disapproved of the way that everyone seemed to talk about the Jotuns, and they even told him that the monsters were no more monstrous than any other race in the nine realms.

"I brought you here because I know how you perceive them and that you have a fondness for running away from your tutors." Thor could not help but smile at the mention of his tutors again. They did more running after him than teaching on most days if he could help it. "There are not many accurate books, but there are drawings of what they look like, I thought it might help a bit in preparation for meeting Prince Loki."

The prince nodded thoughtfully, dreading what he might find in the books after all the stories he had heard. He also started to wonder what this Loki would look like if he was only two years younger than Thor. Was he much larger than Thor?

Odin seemed to somehow know what he was thinking and chuckled lowly. "I can assure you that they are nowhere as ugly and monstrous as the warriors describe them. I saw many myself if you do not recall."

Thor grinned and jumped out of his chair. His father motioned to a stack of four books that was piled up on the table. "These are the books that I thought you might want to look into. Although, I feel like I have to warn you that whatever they look like, I do not believe Loki will. He is, if rumours are true, quite a bit smaller than the average Jotun, but he still has the characteristics of one."

The king rose from his own chair as Thor bundled the books into his arms and they started the walk back to the royal chambers. On the way Odin told Thor that he expected him to behave liked a proper representative of Asgard and treat the other prince with respect.

"But what will I do with him?" Thor asked as they passed by a group of guards chatting with each other. He gripped the books tighter to his chest and looked up at his father questioningly.

"Perhaps you could take him to meet your friends? I am sure that children's activities to not differ that much from realm to realm."

They would forever be in his debt for that, he thought with a smirk appearing on his lips. He could not wait to see their reaction when they saw him together with a giant!

"I do ask you to be careful, Thor," Odin said as they reached the door to Thor's room. "I do not know how it will be for Prince Loki when he comes here. He will be entering a completely new realm with no one with him and he may even be frightened."

The prince scoffed at the notion of a _giant_ being afraid of anything. Well, he would be entering a realm of warriors not that Thor thought about it, and he would be doing so alone. Perhaps it was best if he were frightened, then he could not do anything wrong.

"Not to mention that Asgard is very much warmer than Jotunheim and the Jotuns are not made for warmer temperatures." That statement gave Thor the mental image of a blue giant melting into a puddle of water and he had to keep from snickering out loud.

"I will be sure to take that into consideration," Thor said and opened the door to his room, balancing the books on his knee. "Can we speak of this more tomorrow, I may have questions?" he asked from the doorway and Odin nodded before he disappeared down the hall to his and mother's room.

Thor quickly shut the door and ran inside to his bed, dropping the stacks of books on it and jumping onto it, not even bothering to remove his boots. He grabbed the nearest book and opened it, eyes reading the words that were written down in a nearly illegible handwriting.

There was not much of interest on the first page, just theories of how they came to be, but when he turned it over and read the next on, his eyes widened comically.

"The Jotuns only have one gender. They have both male and female re..." he trailed off with a small shudder at what the next part said and was vividly reminded of the most awkward conversation he had ever had with his father last year after one of the stories the warriors had told.

"They are both male and female at the same time?" he pondered it for a moment, unable to completely make sense of it. This was already becoming strange and he was only two pages into the book.

He turned the page quickly and stumbled upon a very detailed drawing of a Jotun. The first thing that struck him was that this drawing seemed to display them as less monstrous than anything he had ever seen or heard before.

Whoever had made this drawing had taken the time to do so in colour, and Thor noted that the Jotuns eyes were red and its skin blue, just liked all the stories said. However, it lacked horns and fangs like some stories said they had. The Jotun seemed to have lines in swirling shapes and runes on its skin and he found that there was a passage about it on the next page.

"The scars are symbols of achievements and their place in the hierarchy. The first scars are made when they are children and usually shows which family they are from."

He looked up from the book with a disgusted look on his face and quickly turned the page around. He had never heard of _that_ before, but he was almost glad. They cut these marks into themselves and their children?

"The Jotuns are inherently a magical race and they use ice magic to conjured weapons and other things out of ice and snow. Their skin can become cold enough to burn anyone who is not of Jotun descent, but they seem able to control this."

Already having heard most of what was on the page; Thor skipped ahead into the book and stumbled upon what seemed to be a family tree. The book must have been written after the war because at the very end Thor noticed that the prince, Loki, was added and from what his father had said about ages, Loki must have been born during the war.

"Helblindi," he read out the name of the oldest prince of Jotunheim and suddenly wondered why they were sending the _youngest_ as a representative. Would it not be more logical to send the crown prince? Perhaps they were afraid that someone would harm him.

Thor knew that this had been long in the making. His father had started telling him years ago that someday a representative from Jotunheim would come to Asgard, but so far it had been postponed for reasons which his father refused to share.

He closed the book and pushed the rest of them down on the floor. Leaning back against his pillows, he sighed and stared at the ceiling. He wondered what the other prince would look like. His father had called him a _prince_, but according to the book they were both male and female. Would he have a high voice like Sif and long braided hair?

Thor shook his head, trying to clear away the thoughts. They were slightly more disturbing now than what they had been in his childhood. He knew he would not get much sleep until he had met with the prince, but still started to remove his clothing and made himself ready for bed. He would have to speak more with his father tomorrow to get ready.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Jotunheim's youngest prince squirmed as his mentor pulled at the clothes that he had been made to wear. He glared at Fárbauti in protest, but the sorceress steadfastly ignored her apprentice and focused on fastening the two large garments.

"You can't go to Asgard and look like a barbarian now can you?" she said, voice dripping with sarcasm and annoyance. Apparently, wearing only a loincloth was viewed as inappropriate in Asgard and the All-Father had supplied him with clothes that he had to wear.

Loki did not like them one bit.

They were scratchy and clung to his body in a way that he had never felt before. It made him feel like they were going to wrap around him and squeeze him until he passed out and make his blood flow stop. They were even a bit warm to have on.

His shirt was the same colour as the flames he made, green. The trousers, which were by far the more annoying of the two things, were black and a bit too long for him.

A belt was fastened tightly around his waist and he let out an annoyed huff. He started to recite the cooling spells in his head as a way of ignoring what was being done with the clothing. He would need them later when he was in Asgard, his father had told him that it was much too warm for any of them to stay there without protecting spells.

"Your father told you that you might need to appear Asgardian as well." Fárbauti told him as she rose from her crouching position to study the end result. She did not seem particularly happy about her apprentice being sent alone into Asgard, but she hid it beneath her tough exterior.

With little concentration Loki made his blue skin disappear to be replaced by pale skin. He had been able to change his shape for as long as he could recall, but his father seemed insistent that he should be able to turn himself into an Asgardian. He had said that it would be easier to not accidentally injure anyone with his ice magic, but Loki never bothered to turn himself _completely_ Asgardian because he did not want to. He could easily make his skin unable to injure anyone in his natural form.

"They have you looking like a proper Asgardian, little brother."

Loki whirled around to the door of his room and found both of his brothers walking towards him with smiles on their faces. He had known that they would have something to say about his current choice of clothing and skin colour. They hated Asgardians and they were not afraid to tell anyone their opinion. Býleistr had openly voiced his concerns about Loki being sent to Asgard, but their father had not listened.

Fárbauti glanced at the two older princes before she left the room. Helblindi and Býleistr spared her a glance before they turned their attention to their younger brother.

Loki glared at them as best as he could and made his skin turn blue again. "What do you want?" he growled at them, trying to hide the fact that he was rather frightened of what was going to happen later that day. The two had told him so many horrible stories over the years.

They gave each other a look before they seemed to circle him. "We only wanted to see you off," Helblindi told him truthfully. "It's not every day that our younger brother is given a free pass to Asgard." he bent down to Loki's level, looking with disgust at the clothes he was wearing.

"Why did father not ask you to go?" Loki questioned and started to roll up the sleeves of the tunic he had been given. "You're the oldest, therefore the future king." Helblindi seemed amused at the question and poked a finger into Loki's chest, nearly pushing him off his feet.

"Father did not send us because we are large, intimidating and not very pretty," he said and gestured to Býleistr who only scoffed at the description. "You," he pointed at Loki again, this time the younger one glared and made a ball of fire appear in his hand in the event that his brother poked him again. "You are small and sweet looking. Change the colour of your skin and eyes and the Asgardian's would believe you to be one of their own."

Loki resented the description that his brother provided. He _hated_ being smaller and weaker than his brothers and he hated that everyone treated him so differently, like he was some delicate relic that would break!

"But _I'm not_ one of them!" he growled, taking his brothers by surprise, before his expression softened considerably and he looked down at the floor before he spoke again. "What if they do not approve of me?" his voice was quiet, reflecting the child in him that not many people could see. "What if they try to harm me?" at the last part his brothers were confronted with the large, frightened eyes of their little brother darting between them.

Helblindi locked eyes with Býleistr and the middle brother crouched down next to Loki as well. "You are there as a peaceful representative of Jotunheim, if they try to harm you it will be viewed as an act of war by father."

Helblindi pushed Loki's arm plaufully, feeling sorry for his scared younger brother. "I do doubt that the All-father would let them cause you any harm. He has been planning this for years, you know that." he said and rose to his feet. He grabbed Loki's arm and lifted him onto his back. "Besides, you are far too slippery for them to get hold of. And just so you know, I would not mind if you scared that prince a little for Me." he added knowingly and carried his brother away from the royal wing of the palace and towards the great hall where their father would be waiting.

Loki clung to his brother's neck and let his thoughts wander. He was supposed to have visited Asgard earlier, but he had been ill a lot up until two years ago and the last two years he had been busy studying magic with Fárbauti.

He resented the fact that he had to go alone and had tried to persuade his father into letting him bring one of his siblings along, but the answer was steadfastly no. Loki had been angry, but instead of shouting at his father, he had just tried to learn more useful spells from Fárbauti, who did not seem above teaching him some things that Laufey would disapprove of.

The small prince could feel his stomach turning slightly as the neared the throne room. Closing his eyes, he rested his head against Helblindi's back and drew in a deep breath before he exhaled loudly.

Laufey chuckled when he saw his sons enter the throne room; Helblindi with Loki perched on his shoulders. Helblindi's reluctance to accept Loki had lasted for a few years; especially when Loki seemed to constantly fall ill with fevers. However, after he nearly died from one of the fevers, his oldest seemed to have dedicated much of his time to making sure his youngest brother was safe.

Both his older sons were worried about Loki going away. Their attitude toward the Asgardians may have lessened when Odin once _personally_ came to Jotunheim with a healer to help Loki, but they were still apprehensive and resentful.

The king himself was somewhat worried too; he had grown fond of his small son over the years. He was a gifted and powerful sorcerer and also had intelligence where he lacked the brute strength of his brothers. It was a pity that he had to give him to the Asgardian prince.

Loki was put down and then given a push to go with their father who was holding out his large hand for Loki to grab hold of. He noticed the look that Loki gave his brothers before he turned away and looked straight ahead. Laufey gave Helblindi and Býleistr a look before he turned his eyes down on his youngest.

"Let us not keep the All-father waiting."

The king noticed that his son seemed far too quiet as they made their way out of the city towards the place where Odin always arrived. Loki was staring ahead, eyes unfocused and his hand was gripping Laufey's with quite a bit of strength.

"Are you frightened?" he stopped and turned around so that he could see Loki completely. He was biting his lower lip and frowning, a clear sign that something was wrong. Laufey crouched down and put his large hands on Loki's shoulders, turning his son around to face him.

There was a moment of silence between them before Loki's red eyes looked up at Laufey. "Why are you sending _me_ to Asgard? Why not Helblindi, he's the crown prince?"

Laufey sighed loudly and put a hand at the nape of Loki's neck to make him face his father. "Loki, I am sending you because it is the wiser choice. I know you do not like to hear this, but you are smaller and less intimidating than Helblindi. The warriors of Asgard will only see the Jotun warriors they faced ten years ago if he were to be sent instead. There are other reasons as well..."

Loki nodded before his skin briefly started to fade away to pale on his face. "I can appear as one of them and he can't." It was said with a small smile and Laufey patted his head before they both continued walking.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

The All-father landed on the ground just outside of the Jotun city and watched the Bifrost recede into the layer of dark clouds. He quickly tightened his fur cloak around him and tried to see something through the thick darkness that always shrouded the frozen realm.

After a few moments of adjusting to the dim light he found that the king and youngest prince of Jotunheim were already standing a few paces in front of him. The large king seemed to look at down at him with a neutral stare while the small prince beside him looked at him with inquisitive red eyes.

Prince Loki had changed quite a bit since Odin had last seen him. It had been four years since he had been in Jotunheim the last time when Loki had nearly died from a fever and Laufey had called upon him. The prince had been so small and thin, even by Asgardian standards and his skin had been a sickly shade of blue-grey instead of his usual vibrant blue.

Odin was happy to see that Loki seemed bigger and healthier. His azure face was adorned with even more scars than the royal emblems and his hair seemed to have grown long and unruly, in spite of the fact that most Jotuns cut their hair completely off. It curled against his neck and was pushed away from his face.

The All-Father also took note of the fact that he was wearing the clothes he had sent ahead. They were slightly too big on him and he could imagine that they were not very comfortable, but at least he would not have to worry about his subject complaining about nakedness.

Loki's eyes seemed to be taking in every inch of the strange man standing before him. He looked to his father with his eyebrows pulled together sceptically, but the king only put a hand on his son's back. "Loki, this is Odin All-father" Laufey told his son in a chiding tone that made Loki turn back to Odin and give him a small, polite bow. Odin had not expected to be remembered by the small boy and it seemed like he did not.

"Do try to make a good impression on the brat." The king said in a low voice that Odin barely caught. Loki was given a small push from his father before he walked over to the All-father on his own accord. Odin held out a hand for the small Jotun to hold on to, and the boy regarded him with a frown for a moment before he carefully grabbed Odin's big hand.

"Heimdall, open the Bifrost!"

Odin watched the Jotun boy with an amused gaze. He seemed utterly astonished by the colours that swirled around them as the Bifrost lifted them from Jotunheim and took them to Asgard. His small hand tightened its hold on Odin's and he realized that perhaps it was very strange to the boy.

They appeared in Heimdall's observatory and he finally felt they boys hold on him slacken. He looked down and saw that Loki's eyes were closed and his lips were moving, but no sound escaping them. Even the All-Father could feel the shift of magic in the air around them and he was hardly surprised.

"Tell me, Loki, do you practice a lot of magic?"

The Jotun opened his eyes and looked startled by the question. It did not last for long before he smiled shyly. "Yes, my father…" he smiled uneasily as he glanced at the guardian which he seemed to have just noticed. "He had the sorcerers teach me how to keep myself cold and shield my eyes from the brightness."

Odin could only smile and be happy that his assumptions all those years ago had been true. Laufey seemed to have treated the boy well.

The two walked out of the observatory and once they stepped onto the rainbow bridge and Loki squinted at the brightness. It took a few moments before he could open them properly and take in the strange realm before him.

Tall golden buildings rose in the distance with blue skies and the intense sun in the background. Beneath him he could see all the colours that the bridge was made of and he smiled, never having seen so many colours before. He had never imagined this when he had thought of Asgard. He may have heard it being called the golden realm, but he never thought they were referring to anything specific such as the golden buildings or the shining, golden sun.

He felt a hand on his back and looked back up at Odin who smiled kindly down at him. The All-father ushered him towards a horse carriage that waited for them, smiling at the prince's amazement.

"It is different, is it not?" Odin prompted as they rode into the city itself. The boy seemed caught up in watching the city fly by and could hardly peel his eyes away from all the new sights. "Yes," he replied solemnly. "Jotunheim is… dimmer. Father says it used to be quite beautiful when we still had the Ancient Winters at our disposal." He seemed to then realize what he had said and looked shamefully down at the floor.

Odin put a hand on the boy's cold shoulder and leaned in. "It was beautiful," he whispered and looked as Loki's head turned towards his with a surprised look. "Of course, there was always new snow and it was brighter than it is now. Many would disagree and say it is a cold place, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder." He added and leaned back in his seat. "And it will be beautiful again, my boy, for I have an agreement with your father that the Casket will one day be returned to him when I believe that he has earned the right to have it in his possession again."

Loki smiled politely back at the king before he turned to look outside again. The All-father was surprisingly kind and understanding and he found it hard to be angry at him for leaving them without the casket. He may have taken their source of power, but they had invaded another realm and tried to subjugate it, killing many Midgardians in the process. A different king would have killed his father and seized Jotunheim for their crimes.

Loki leaned back against his seat and licked his lips nervously before he spoke, "Father said that I would be spending the day with you son," Odin nodded in reply and Loki shifted a little. "Do you wish for me to appear as an Asgardian?" he questioned and lookd up at the old king.

The All-Father seemed to think about it for a few moments and it made Loki nervous. Surely the people would not just turn their eyes away when they saw a Jotun walking amongst them. Well, perhaps they would not even be leaving the palace and the meeting would be in secret.

"No," Odin finally replied and put a hand on Loki's shoulder. "I have informed the people of your arrival and if anyone should try something, they will be punished accordingly. There is no reason for you to hide."

Nodding, he turned his eyes towards the city flying by again. He had hoped that the All-Father would say yes so that he did not have to be stared at like some exotic beast that the All-Father had acquired. He had received enough attention at home when he was younger and he did not necessarily like it, not when they were glaring at him or pitying him.

The carriage stopped in front of a huge flight of golden stairs that lead up to what Loki could only assume was the Asgardian palace. As soon as he stepped out of the carriage he saw that there were four guards standing by the stairs waiting for them. He felt the need to turn himself into something different when he saw the shrouded looks of disgust that passed their faces when they knew the All-Father was not looking.

"Come along," Odin said from where he had already started to ascend the stairs and Loki took the time to glare at the guards before he followed the king. There were people walking up and down the stairs too that stopped and pointed at him.

_Why did I even come here,_ he thought to himself as he tried to shy away from their looks. Clearly the Asgardians did not seem very open about the idea of a Jotun in their realm, or else they would have hidden their stares and pointing. He wanted nothing more than to go back home and shout at his father for making him do this.

"Do not mind them," the All-Father's voice startled him as they finished walking up the stairs and the large gates to the palace opened before them. "They are only curious because many of them have never seen a Jotun before."

Loki nodded politely as he followed the king into the palace where the prince would surely be waiting for them.

**This is the first part of this chapter. It turned out very long so I decided to split it in two parts.**


	3. Chapter 2 Part 2

**~ Uniting the Realms ~**

Thor found himself restlessly waiting for his father to return with the Jotun prince. He was seated on the steps leading up to his father's throne with his head resting on his arms which were placed on his knees. His feet were bouncing lightly up and down, but he was too lost in his own thoughts to notice the way his head bounced along as well.

Yesterday had been spent in a small room with his father and his tutor, learning the most important parts about the Jotuns and their culture. It had somehow managed to make him even more intrigued and not in an "I want to see the monsters I have been told of all life" way.

There was much that Asgard did not know about the race, but it was still more than what Thor had known beforehand. The most curious thing was still the gender roles among the race. It seemed strange that all of them could have the same roles, and of course that they could all sire children _and_ become impregnated. It made it even stranger when his father kept referring to Loki as a prince and a boy when obviously also a girl.

Thinking about it too much made his head hurt. He lifted his head from his arms and focused his eyes on the decoration adorning the golden floor in front of him. He idly wondered how his friends would react to the visitor. He had yet to tell them about it and smiled when he thought about their reactions.

His father had held a meeting where all of Asgard had been urged to attend and listen to what he had to say. They had all been surprised when he told them that a prince from Jotunheim was coming and he outright _demanded_ that he be treated with respect.

There had been many confused faces in the crowd and Odin had seen this. "He is here to learn about us. I believe that if we learn more about the Jotuns and they learn more about us, we may be able to continue this peace."

Thor's friends had been surprised and had wanted to question him about it, but he did not have the time for it. He wanted it to be a surprise when he introduced them to the prince, but he wanted to be sure that the Jotun would be safe to bring to his friends. Despite his father's assurances, he was still a bit wary.

Suddenly the massive golden gates opened with a loud creaking sound and Thor rose clumsily from his sitting position. As quickly as he could, he jumped down the steps and stopped once he landed on the floor, standing up straight and making himself look presentable.

As he looked up from his attire at the two approaching figures, the reality of the situation finally settled in. He was going to meet his first Jotun!

At first he was confused because the person next to his father seemed very small, but when they came closer and they stepped into the light he saw that the boy's skin was a vibrant shade of blue, darker than the colour of the sky. When the boy looked up from the floor, hair falling into his face, a pair of blood red eyes stared back at Thor.

Prince Loki was clothed, despite the fact that Odin had stated that they were never cold and did not need clothes. They were very thin clothes, Thor noted and did not seem like they would belong to a prince, so he could only guess that his father had given them to Loki.

Thor's blue eyes briefly locked with the red ones of Loki before they both looked away and studied the other more. Loki's hair was now pushed back from his face and Thor realized that it was actually quite long, almost reaching to his shoulders.

He looked fragile.

Thor had heeded his father's warnings that Loki would be a bit different from the Jotuns described in the books, but now that he stood before him Thor did not feel like he was looking at a monster, he felt like he was looking at a small, fragile, scared boy.

His large red eyes reminded Thor of someone much younger than they were. He was much thinner and a bit shorter than Thor and that was made more prominent by the way that the obviously borrowed clothes hung off his frame.

The only that set him apart from being Asgardian were the different colour and the strange markings that Thor could now see adorning the skin of his face and arms. They were actually quite beautiful in a strange way even thought it should have disturbed him as he knew they had been _cut_ into his skin at some point.

When Thor managed to drag his eyes away from the other prince, his father was looking down at him with an expression of expectation. "Thor, this is Prince Loki of Jotunheim," Thor looked at the boy again and this time their eyes met for a brief moment before the Jotun bowed in greeting to Thor.

The Asgardian prince reciprocated before as his father continued to speak. "He will be joining you and your friends today and the guards outside the gates will follow you around for protection."

Prince Loki looked up at Odin with a slightly panicked expression on his face and the king seemed to know what was on his mind because he smiled and put a comforting hand on the boy's cold shoulder. "You are here as a peaceful representative and everyone knows that, I made sure to make it clear."

The Jotun prince was frowning slightly and biting his lips, but he nodded and turned to look at Thor again, his expression softening slightly as he did so. Thor almost felt sorry for him when he had those insecure red eyes directed at him, anyone could see clearly that the other boy was afraid, and why should he not? He was in a strange world, surrounded by strangers that would certainly judge and perhaps hate him because of his race.

He looked away from Loki and averted his eyes to the floor. He felt guilty for ever having thought that Jotuns were just monsters when he looked at the other boy. There was no way that he could have pretended to be as insecure and afraid as he seemed.

The All-father straightened up to his full height before he stepped away from the two boys. "I will take my leave, but if you wish to speak with me the guards and Thor will bring you to me." Prince Loki turned to him and smiled insecurely at him before a calm expression seemed to settle over him.

The All-Father proceeded to leave through one of the rooms behind the throne. He smiled to himself as the door was closed behind him before he started to search for his wife. Things seemed to have gone well so far, Thor had not seemed to express any inappropriate things during the introduction and he could only hope that he carried on his good behaviour throughout the day.

He wanted them to become friends because then it would be easier when he eventually had to tell them later that they were destined to marry one another. Of course, it would be even easier if they would fall in love on their own, but he knew that while Loki was more than likely to fall in love with a man, Thor might not be as open.

"Did our son behave?"

Odin smiled as he heard the amused tone of his wife's voice from behind him as he walked into her study. She came up from behind him and placed a light kiss on his cheek before she strolled over to her spinning wheel and sat down on the chair next to it.

"Of course," he replied and walked closer to her, his eye watching as her wheel started to spin. "Have you seen anything?" she smiled and shook her head as she found a thread that was split in many pieces.

"It is too early to see anything yet. The future is clouded and there are too many possibilities."

Perhaps she would see something clearer at the end of the day, not that she would ever tell him something definite, it was the burden of being able to see possible futures, she would never tell anyone of them in detail

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

They stood there for a few moments, staring at each other and trying to get used to the way the other looked. Loki felt like the Asgardian was scrutinizing every inch of him and it felt strange. He was used to being stared at, but that was usually only because of his stature and no one could say anything about it because he was a prince and a very powerful sorcerer.

It was strange seeing a young Asgardian. The All-Father was the epitome of how the race was described in stories at home, small (tall compared to Loki) and broad, muscled and much hairier than Jotuns. But Thor looked much like Loki himself, only slightly bigger and with different skin colour and eye colour.

Thor cleared his throat awkwardly and Loki's eyes snapped to him. "Should we go meet my friends?" He asked after a few moments. The Jotun drew in a breath before he nodded hesitantly. He was slightly reluctant in meeting Thor's friends, but he could not refuse, he was a guest in this realm and all alone.

"Follow me," Thor gestured towards the doors that Loki had just come in through. They exited the palace and the guards outside followed them silently. Loki felt them stare at him just as the Asgardians in earlier had done and could not help but feel very uncomfortable surrounded by people who were staring at him like that.

Thor was not above staring either, and kept sneaking glances at the Jotun as they walked towards one of the gardens where Thor and his friends usually played. Loki could tell that his eyes were following the raised lines on his skin and had an intense urge to pull the sleeves of the shirt down to hide them from his view.

"What do they symbolize?"

Both stopped and Loki raised his eyebrows at the question, slightly impressed by the Prince's choice of wording. "Most people ask _what_ they are."

Thor felt like he was making a good impression on the other prince. "I have read about your people and the books said that the marks mean different things." Loki smiled at the explanation and Thor felt some of the tension in the air melt away.

Loki then lifted his hand so that Thor could see it clearer and pointed to markings that looked like triangles with the bottom cut out. They started on the back of his hand and continued up his forearm. "These are markings to show that I am a sorcerer." He said and traced them slightly with his index finger.

"You're a sorcerer?"

Thor realized too late that he had shouted it out loud. He should not have been surprised, honestly, the thing that his mind had stuck most on when he read about the Jotuns were their gender. Of course, he could be a sorcerer when he was from another realm and also partially a girl.

Loki frowned and he looked nervously at the guards who turned away from his gaze to look elsewhere. "Well, yes... Father told me that only women and a few select men practice magic here, but we do not have the same restrictions that you do."

The Asgardian bit his lips nervously, afraid that he had offended the Jotun. "I know," he admitted rather quickly. "I read about it, but it is just surprising to me because I am not used to bo..." he trailed off when he realized that perhaps it would offend Loki if he called him a boy. His father had called him a prince and a boy, but perhaps Loki preferred to be referred to as a girl? It was highly confusing.

"I am sorry if asking this is rude, but... do you prefer to be referred to as a girl or a boy?" the guards' eyes popped open and they both set their eyes on Thor as if he had just insulted the king himself. It made Thor turn very still, hoping that he had mortally offended Loki.

"You seem quite knowledgeable about my kind," Loki said with a smile that he only let out because he was trying to contain his laughter. It must have been so hard for the Asgardian to ask that question and yet he had dared to ask it. It was impressive in a way that he had taken the time to learn something about Jotuns, most races never did. He could remember encounters with Dark Elves who asked them where their women were hiding.

"I'm used to being referred to as a boy," he said helpfully and saw the frightened look vanish from Thor's face instantly. "Did you know that we never used to specify whether or not we preferred to be called a boy or a girl? It was the influence of all the other realms that made us start doing it."

He had always thought it was strange himself that they had started to do so. There was no difference between those who considered themselves girls and those who considered themselves boys. All Jotun were created in the same image, unless they were like him, smaller and weaker, but still Jotun looking.

"I did not know that," Thor admitted slowly with a small smile. "If I'm to be honest it seems a bit silly because the books said that all Jotuns look the same and there are no large differences like there are between Asgardian men and women."

Loki chuckled loudly and seemed to agree with the statement. "Well, it's too late to change that tradition now; we have all become accustomed to it, even if it is a bit strange."

After that sentence from Loki, they resumed the walk towards the gardens. They chatted together about many different things, most of which were prompted by questions from Loki about the different things around them.

Loki told him that he had read about Asgardians in the same way as Thor had read about Jotuns. He knew much about Asgardians, but he did not know much about Asgard itself. He had never seen real flowers before and found them very interesting.

"Do you have many animals in Jotunheim?" Thor asked after Loki seemed to be in awe of one of the horses that was being lead down the same path that they walked on.

"Of course we do!" he chuckled and turned his eyes away from the animal. "I believe some are much the same as they are here, only that they have adapted to the cold and are much larger than your animals. I have a wolf which I use as a mount." He said proudly and Thor's eyebrows rose high.

Loki then proceeded to tell him about the animals of Jotunheim and Thor was glad that the animals in Asgard were much smaller and far less vicious. They rounded a corner and entered one of the large gardens close to the palace. Thor could see his friends fighting each other with wooden swords and smiled, nudging Loki carefully and pointing towards his friends with a big smile.

The Jotun started to slow down a bit as they walked deeper into the garden. Thor seemed happy to see his friends, but he could not know if they would be happy to see a Jotun walking towards them together with their prince. He was feeling very nervous as the neared the four playing Asgardians.

"Friends!" Thor shouted when they had walked almost up to the four and immediately they stopped their mock fighting and turned towards their friend with bright smiles. They lessened in brightness when they seemed to notice the small, blue boy trailing behind Thor.

"Thor!" Volstagg seemed to be the only one who was not completely put off by the strange boy following their friend and immediately walked over to Thor with the others following slowly behind him.

Thor could feel the tension in the air and tried to put on a friendly smile in front of the visitor. "Sif, Volstagg, Hogun and Fandral," Thor pointed out everyone to Loki before he gestured to the other prince. "This is Prince Loki of _Jotunheim_." He tried to ignore the very revealing expressions on his friends' faces. "Loki, these are my friends." At least the Jotun tried to smile friendly at the others who seemed to be glaring at him.

His friends whispered among each other, Volstagg pointing to Loki and saying "He can't possibly be a Frost _Giant_?" to an agreeing Hogun and Fandral. Thor noticed that Loki's calm, friendly expression faltered at the words. He felt like glaring at his friends, but they were right, of course, he was small.

Sif straightened up and walked quickly over to where Loki was standing and grabbed his exposed arm on a tight grip. The Jotun jumped in surprise and immediately tried to drag his arm away from the girl, but she was not letting him go. She grinned and stepped right into Loki's personal space, looking at him up close.

"You're so cold!" she exclaimed and then seemed to take note of the fact that even _she_ was slightly taller than the prince. "And small!" she added with glee as Loki tried to get away from her grasp in vain.

Loki struggled against her grip and made his skin colder to the touch, but not enough to harm her. He wanted her to let go because he did not like being touched like this by complete strangers, especially not when he could do nothing to protect himself without being punished for it.

"Please, let go of me. I could hurt you!" he yelled in vain at the girl who only seemed to grip him tighter all while chuckling. "Sif!" Loki heard Thor shout and the prince sounded concerned, but Loki did not know which of them he was concerned for. He set his red eyes on her in attempt to scare her, but it seemed useless when he was squirming like a trapped animal.

The guards who had followed them from the palace were coming over to them with worried looks on their faces. Loki knew that he would surely be to blame if anything happened and he certainly did not want his earlier fear of being harmed coming true. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, feeling himself shift.

Thor was about to yank Sif away from Loki when he suddenly noticed that Loki's colour seemed to change around the area where Sif was holding him. The blueness of his skin disappeared slowly and was replaced by a pale shade that resembled Asgardian skin.

"Look!" Hogun seemed to have noticed the same thing and was pointing at the spreading patch of Asgardian skin. The guards stopped dead in their tracks, openly staring, and Sif dropped the boy's hand as if it had burned her, but it did not stop until all of the blue colour was gone, replaced by pale and pink shades.

"What did I do?" she asked in a frightened voice and looked apologetically toward Thor who was too busy staring at the Jotun. Loki only looked pleased as the red of his eyes disappeared to be replaced by white and green.

Thor was utterly surprised when he found himself looking at someone completely Asgardian standing where Loki had been. There were no symbols raised on his skin, his eyes were normal like and Asgardian's and so was his skin. It was astonishing to behold.

"What happened?" Thor could only stare at Loki, taking in every inch of him. Loki smiled and suddenly his eyes turned red again and his azure skin returned together with the strange markings. "I wanted your friend to let go, so I changed my shape to surprise her," he said proudly and all of the others looked even more shocked.

Sif seemed to have recovered slightly when she realized that he had not changed because she had done something wrong. However, her expression seemed to convey a bit of wariness towards him.

"Are you a magic wielder?"

The question made Loki smile a bit and Thor suddenly felt like something had been lifted off his shoulders. No one had been hurt and they did not seem to have offended their guest yet. "Yes, I am a magic wielder." he replied happily and demonstrated it by snapping his fingers, making a green flame appear in the palm of his hand. "But I am also a shape shifter; therefore I can change anything about my appearance." He said as he exstinguished the flame with his hand.

Thor was too busy watching the flame to stop his friends from saying anything. Fandral laughed for a few moments before he said what all of them were thinking. "Only girls are magic wielders!"

Loki glanced at Thor in confusion and before Thor could tell him in some way that they did not know much about Jotuns, Loki started to talk. "There are not many sorcerers left in Jotunheim, without our source of power, very few are born. And we don't believe that only women should be allowed to practice magic when the men are perfectly capable as well."

Thor realized that he did not mention the fact that Jotuns only had one gender and actually felt thankful. He had not the faintest idea how his friends would have reacted to that being revealed. He smiled carefully at Loki before he punched Volstagg's shoulder playfully. He could see that his friends were regretting that comment from Fandral and did the best he could to improve the situation at once.

"Let us not stand here and talk all day!" he said and put on one of his brightest smiles. "Do you wish to play with us, Loki?" he asked and picked up one of the many wooden swords that were laying around them.

The question from Thor seemed to break the ice a bit. The children spent the rest of the day playing together in the garden, teaching Loki how to fight with his wooden sword. The small giant entertained them with displays of his magic, using them to win the fights. The others seemed to find it funny instead of saying that it was cheating. They especially enjoyed it when he won by making clones of himself to distract them.

Naturally, using so much magic made him tire easily and the spells keeping him cool suffered from the extensive use. He had to excuse himself and sit down in the shade of a nearby tree and conjure up cold ice around him to cool down.

As he sat there he humoured himself by watching the others all while making ice cover the spot on which he was sitting. That was how Frigga found the small Jotun, creating shapes on the ground with his frost magic, fingers moving through the dirt and filling it with ice and a green glow.

He was smaller than she had ever imagined, but he was also better looking than any monster her mind had conjured up previously. From what she could tell, he seemed to be quite a beautiful child when you looked past the strangeness of his blue, scarred skin and red eyes.

The prince seemed to startle when he realized that he was not alone anymore. "Hello," she greeted him and sat down next to him, not caring that she would get dirt on her gown. She had waited a long time for this day and would not miss the chance to talk to the boy who could possibly be her son's future consort. "My name is Frigga, I am Thor's mother."

"Hello," The small boy greeted her and with a quick gesture of his hand made the ice around him disappear as if it had never existed. He held out a small blue hand and Frigga grabbed it with a warm smile, marvelling at the coldness of Loki's skin.

"It is an honour to meet you," his smile was bright and genuine and she felt herself smile brighter. If every giant was as polite and genuine as this boy then the Asgardians should be ashamed of the stories that they told their little ones.

"Are you having fun, Loki?" she asked as they watched the other children playfully fight against each other. The small boy beside her smiled and nodded eagerly. "It is different, but much easier than playing with the other Jotun children," he admitted, eyes still following the movements of the Asgardians.

The queen's expression faltered a bit and she felt sorry for the boy. Odin had told her many times that he would never look like the other Jotuns, but she had not realized that this would probably affect him like this. She had never seen another giant herself, but she could imagine even the children were quite a bit larger than the prince. It was also worth to note that the prince looked small and fragile even by Asgardian standards.

"I'm sorry to hear that," she spoke quietly and with honesty. He only seemed to shrug and twirl his fingers into the air, leaving small green sparks in their wake. "But I am glad that Thor has not scared you off, he can be a bit to excitable at times." She told him to lighten the mood and it seemed to work because the boy chuckled.

"He is not so different from the other Jotun children," Loki told her with a low chuckle. "They enjoy playing like this too, of course a bit differently as I said."

A yelp from the other children brought their attention to the playful fighting. Fandral was standing above a fallen Thor who was perched on the ground with a murderous expression on his face. Their swords had been dropped and even the others seemed to be paying attention to see what the usually hot-headed prince would do to retaliate.

They did not have to wait long. Before Frigga could shout out a warning to her son, Thor jumped up from the ground and brought Fandral down with him before they started to wrestle each other on the ground. Sif, Hogun and Volstagg ran to their friends and seemed to be unsure whether they should be separating them or cheering them on.

Frigga shot up from the ground, with Loki following closely behind her, and walked briskly over to the two fighting boys. She quickly grabbed both of them and separated them from each other, holding Thor by his shirt and Fandral by his arm.

She looked down at the two boys with a look of disapproval that would have made anyone feel guilty about their actions before she let go of them. Both boys stood completely still, looking down at the ground.

"I thought you father told you to behave?" she chastised her son and gave him a stern look when he looked up and was about to open his mouth and say something. She turned to Fandral and gave him the same look before she let out a sigh.

Thor glared at Fandral and gritted his teeth. "I'm sorry," he muttered lowly and crossed his arms over his chest. The queen made Fandral apologize too before she bid them all farewell, stating that she had some things to take care of, and left them to themselves. It took a few awkward moments before the children continued their playing, this time without Thor who joined Loki under the tree, sulking slightly.

"That was embarrassing," declared Thor after they had sat there for a while together, just watching the others. Loki turned to the other prince and scoffed, small puffs of frost coming out of his mouth. "You should see the scolding me and my brothers get when we start fighting each other." He told the other prince who lifted and eyebrow, looking quite intrigued by the statement.

"Are you brothers much larger than you?" The Asgardian asked and put his chin on one of his knees which had been drawn up to his chest. He watched as Loki nodded and with some movements of his hands made two shapes appear, created by green vapour. They appeared to look like people, one of the shapes reached up to the waist of the other one.

"I am quite a bit smaller than they are, but they are also full grown by now. The children are a bit smaller, but still bigger than me."

It was said in a quiet and reserved voice and Thor felt sorry for Loki. It must have been hard for him to fit in with the other children if they were very much bigger and stronger than he was.

The shapes dissipated into thin air with a snap of Loki's fingers and he suddenly looked to be in a better mood again. "They may all be bigger than me, but I am in no way weaker than them." his smiled wryly and made a flame appear in his palm like he had earlier. "Father has told them that using my magic is in no way cheating because they already have the advantage of being older and larger."

Thor laughed as he imagined the small boy fighting large, blue giants with his magic. They settled back against the tree and continued watching as Sif beat Fandral and Volstagg, but did not manage to beat Hogun who tricked her.

"Why did you not tell them why you are a sorcerer?" Thor asked suddenly out of the blue and Loki turned to him with a shy smile. "I have read about Asgardians, as I said, and I know that you are separate, boy and girl." He started and pointed to Sif and Fandral. "Father told me that not all races are very forthcoming when it comes to differences like these, and I did not come here to be made fun of or mocked because I am different from them in a way that they find amusing."

The Asgardian was suddenly very grateful for his father's warnings and for giving him the books. He imagined that this visit would not have gone well if he had been unprepared for all of the differences between Jotuns and Asgardians.

"I am glad you did not tell them," he admitted. "I'm not sure how they would have reacted to that." Loki seemed to agree with the statement.

"Loki, Thor, join us!"

The two princes smiled as they both got up from the ground and ran toward the others, picking up their discarded swords on the way.

**A/n: I was going to update sooner, but suddenly everything decided to stop working. I had to send in my new laptop to get fixed and transfer everything to my old laptop and then our internet started to go nuts and disappeared. Our internet connection is currently a bit unreliable, so there may be some delays in uploading due to that. Also, things may go a bit slower due to the fact that I have to write a lot on the next chapters and I still have to work around the farm.**

**Long story short: Chapters may be coming out a bit slower due to the fact that I have to write a lot on them and that our internet is currently very unstable. I'm still going to try to update as soon as I can.**


	4. Chapter 3

**I'm back! I'm so glad I said that I might be delayed because my internet disappeared completely after I posted the last chapter and was gone for 1.5 weeks. We changed our internet provider because the previous one didn't do crap when we complained (we've been complaining since last year) so now everything is looking great! After that I sort of didn't write that much and was unhappy with what I had written, which resulted in some rewrites for this chapter. I'm still not happy with it, but I couldn't delay it anymore and I gave up on trying to write a new chapter.**

**Also, I was going to have a friend look over it, but I'm just going to post it like this and hope it isn't shit because I feel bad for not updating sooner. And I'm going to Edinburgh tomorrow so the next chapter will be up after next Saturday or Sunday.**

**~ Uniting the Realms ~**

Odin watched as Thor and Loki ran ahead towards Heimdall's observatory, laughing as they tried to outrun one another. The two boys seemed to have bonded very fast and except for one small incident – which Loki had only reluctantly told Odin of – it seemed that the day had turned out much better than he could have ever hoped for. It was reason to celebrate and he would do so later when he asked Frigga if she could discern their futures more accurately now.

He entered the observatory and greeted Heimdall who was as silent as ever. The two boys were standing next to each other, whispering and glancing at the King. Odin smiled as he came close enough to hear Thor's whisper something to Loki before they both turned towards him with hopeful looks on their small faces.

"Father," Thor said far too timidly. "Will Loki come back?" he asked and looked up at his father with hopeful eyes. The All-Father glanced from Thor to the Jotun Prince who quickly averted his eyes, but not before he could notice the same expression mirrored on his blue face. His smile brightened as he put a hand on each boy's shoulder and bent slightly down. "If he so wishes and Laufey does not oppose, he is welcome to return."

Loki looked up from the ground immediately and locked eyes with Thor, both their expressions were excited and they smiled brightly up at Odin. "I will ask my father as soon as I am home!" said Loki to Thor who was almost shaking with excitement and happiness.

As if taking his cue from the Jotun Prince, Heimdall walked into the middle of the observatory and slotted his massive sword into place with a loud sound that echoed off the dome. Odin placed a hand on Loki's back and the boy looked up at him questioningly. "Will you be able to walk home safely?" asked Odin and the small giant smiled brightly at him. "Of course!" he replied before Odin gave him a slight push forward so that he could be sent home.

Thor followed Odin who walked to stand behind Heimdall as Loki began to disappear in a flurry of different colours. After a few minutes Heimdall drew the sword up and nodded at the King, signalling that Loki had returned to Jotunheim safely.

"Come," said Odin and started to walk back to the horses they had used to get out of the city. "Did you have fun?" he asked as they exited the observatory and Thor seemed to grown quiet, but still seemed very excited. His son nodded vigorously. "Yes!" he exclaimed happily. "Loki may be very different, but he is fascinating and he's a really talented sorcerer. He was good a pretend fighting too, which I suppose is because he is used to fighting with giants who are taller and stronger than him."

He listened to Thor's excited ranting the entire trip back to the palace. It seemed that the Jotun Prince had entertained them with displays of his magic and even used it to make fun of Fandral when he insulted him about sorcery being for girls. Apparently he had not taken kindly to one side of him being mocked.

Thor excused himself once they were inside the palace and said that he needed to speak with his friends again. Odin let him go and instead decided to find his wife and ask her if she had seen something new while spinning. He hoped that things would become clearer after today because he truly wanted this truce to be upheld and last for as long as possible.

Odin found Frigga in the great hall by his throne, carefully petting Hugin who seemed to have returned from one of his travels. Munin had still not returned home, but Odin was used to his faithful ravens coming and going as they pleased. After all, he needed them to gather news from the other realms and they did so willingly and without his command.

"My Queen," he greeted when he came close to her and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. She smiled brighter and gave him a hug. "Thor's future became brighter and brighter by the hour, my love. I believe I may even remember love from many of the possible futures, a special kind of love." She whispered as she stared up at him. "Loki's future is still hard to see and there are still many possibilities." She added with a worried tone that made Odin hug her closer to himself with a sigh.

He knew that she could not say what she saw when she looked into the future. It was the curse of foresight, she could not tell anyone else of it and she could not change it no matter how much she wanted to. She had tried to explain it to him once, but he still felt it was a difficult thing to grasp. She knew things that could happen, but at the same time she did not. It was as if she forgot it after a few seconds and could only remember that the future looked brighter or darker. It was confusing to him, but knew that it would be dangerous to have so much knowledge of future and possible events; therefore he accepted that she would never be able to tell him any of it.

"Well, you will be happy to know that the Jotun Prince wishes to return and Thor wants the same." He told her and it seemed to brighten her mood a little. "The day went better than I could have hoped for."

The other visits from Loki over the years passed in much the same way as the first one. Therer was always a degree of mischief and trouble involved when the small giant and the Asgardian children played together, but they never had any fights amongst themselves and Loki and Thor seemed to grow closer with each visit from the Jotun.

Frigga and Odin were surprised when they noticed the looks that Thor seemed to give Loki at times. They both knew that Loki enjoyed the company of women, but they were almost relived when they saw that he seemed to pay as much attention to Loki as he did all the maidens swarming around the young man. Loki seemed to do the same thing when Thor was not watching, but that was hardly surprising considering his heritage.

It seemed that things were coming along well.

**Nine years later…**

Thor trudged slowly towards his mother's private room in the royal quarters. Maids and guards walked passed him and greeted him, but he paid them no mind, he was too distracted with his own thoughts.

He had managed to convince the others to go do something without him, claiming that he had important matters to discuss with his mother. It was not a lie, he did have something important to discuss with her, but he did not want the others to know what it was or ask, especially Loki. The Jotun could always tell when someone was lying and he was an expert at obtaining information from others.

When he reached his mother's room he stopped for a moment. Gritting his teeth, he bowed his head before he sighed deeply. He had been carrying this inside him for too long and he needed to speak to someone about it. Normally he would talk to Loki, but he could not tell him about this. Therefore, his mother was his final choice.

He rapped his knuckles against the door and waited for his mother's reply. Once he heard the soft reply from behind the door he opened it and stepped into the room with careful steps.

His mother was sitting next to her spinning wheel, but as soon as she saw him she rose and stepped over to her bed. As she sat down she patted the spot beside her on the soft sheets and Thor trudged over to her slowly, trying not to meet her eyes.

"Is something the matter?" her hand immediately found his when he had sat down and started to pick at a scrape on his armour. Worry was evident in her voice and he drew in a deep breath before he started to speak.

"I- I wish to speak with you about something," he told her, still staring into his own lap. "I had no one else to go to." he admitted softly and put his other hand on top of hers and gave it a soft squeeze. He felt her other hand start to card through his hair, just like she used to do when he was young and something was on his mind. "I wish to speak freely and say everything that I want to before you say anything." He told her and finally looked into her worried blue eyes. She nodded slowly, but her frown deepened and her grip tightened.

Closing his eyes he took a few steadying breaths, wanting to be done with this as fast as possible. "I think I might be in love with Loki," he rushed out with his eyes shut tightly. "I have been experiencing strange feelings about him and I find myself attracted to him like I have been to women in the past and I do not know what to do."

After he had said it they sat there in silence for a few seconds before he felt his mother's hand tighten around his while her other hand came to rest at his chin, tilting his head upwards to face her own. He did not want to open his eyes to see her disappointed look or her outrage. Being in love with another man was hardly a regular occurrence in Asgard and there was certainly no tales of someone from the royal family willingly choosing to be with a man.

"Oh, Thor," his mother sighed and he frowned when her voice was still soft and kind, the only difference was that she sounded almost sad in a way. He opened his eyes and found nothing but kindness reflected back at him. She cradled his face between her hands, staring into his eyes and began to speak. "You are not at all wrong in loving Thor more than as just a friend. It may be somewhat unusual, but know that I and your father would not think differently of you if you loved Loki and not an Asgardian woman."

Thor sighed in relief, but it did not feel like the burden had been lifted. He was to be king when his father decided and he would need to announce who would be his future Queen after being crowned king. He had spent years chasing the Asgardian women and enjoying their company, but when they disappeared and the memories of them faded he was always left with Loki.

He could not remember when he had started to think differently of Loki. One day when they had been cooling in a stream after exploring the nearby forest he had found his eyes straying to Loki. The Jotun was almost as tall as Thor, but did not have the same muscle mass as the Asgardian. He was thin and more graceful than many of the ladies Thor knew. His blue skin, covered in markings and his red eyes were considered odd and terrifying by many, but Thor found them beautiful. The way that some of the marks made his cheekbones even more prominent had always made him want to stroke the cold skin and feel the bones underneath.

With a shake of his head he found himself able to concentrate on his mother's eyes once more. "What will I do? I am an adult now and it is expected of me to find a suitable wife to be my queen before I am crowned king, but none of them hold my interests." He told her in a defeated tone. "The people would never accept a Jotun as my consort, they all believe Loki to be a man and that would only make it worse."

"You would choose him as your consort?" Frigga asked and Thor looked at her, surprised. The thought had crossed his mind, but he had dismissed it at once knowing that no one would approve because he was a Jotun and everyone believed him to be a man. Theoretically, Loki could turn himself into a woman and they could marry, but Thor would never ask that of him because he did not want Loki to have to hide himself and pretend to be someone else.

"I-" he stuttered for a moment before his shoulders slumped and he sighed loudly. "He is my best friend and I love him, but I do not know if he has the same feelings." His mother gave him a sympathetic smile before she grabbed his hand again and gave it a squeeze. "Perhaps you should tell him this?" she suggested softly. "I doubt he will have a problem with your gender and you are his friend." Thor nodded slowly and looked down. "He deserves to know and I do not want you to carry this around inside you."

She was right of course, he needed to tell Loki whether he wanted to or not. But how was he supposed to tell his best friend that he was in love with him? What if Loki already had someone that he had not told Thor of? "I will tell him when we travel to Svartalfheim." He told her quietly and saw her smile encouragingly back at him.

With a sigh he rose and smiled back at his mother. "I have to go, he will arrive soon." He said and gave her a small, quick hug before he left her to continue her spinning. He closed the door quietly behind him and slumped for a moment and tried to calm himself down. He had not noticed before, but he was shaking slightly and he tightened his hands into fists at his side to stop them from trembling. He could not meet Loki like this, the trickster would know at once that something was wrong and Thor was not a particularly good liar.

He did not know how he was going to tell Loki about this, but hoped that a proper occasion would appear where he could tell him and deal with the outfall afterward.

Laufey watched his son hurry into the war room, Asgardian clothes appearing on his lean frame as he walked over to one of the high chairs at the end of the massive table. With a flick of his hands he made boots appear on his feet, lips twitching annoyed at the need to wear the _damned things_ as he liked to call them. A small smile formed on his lips when Loki leaned back and moved his almost too long hair out of his face and made it stay flat against his head. After he was done dressing himself magically he looked expectantly up at his father with a small smile.

"You sent for me?"

The smile on Loki's face made Laufey feel even worse for what was about to transpire. He had always been known as a stoic and perhaps cold person, but Loki could melt the heart of anyone with his warm smiles.

The king rose from his own chair and put the map he had been studying down on the table. He walked over and sat beside his son on another chair. "Yes," he said and looked down at his son who was starting to seem a bit worried.

Laufey and Odin had agreed a long time ago that Loki and Thor would be married soon after Thor was crowned king. It was customary in Asgard to crown someone after they were twenty-one, unless their predecessor met an untimely death before their heir reached that age.

They had agreed not to tell Thor and Loki of it because they felt like it would be unfair for them to know their whole lives that they were going to end up married to each other, no matter what. Odin hoped that perhaps his son would fall for Loki, but Laufey knew better. Thor and Loki were friends, and while Loki was very likely to fall in love with men, the king doubted that Thor was.

Odin planned on convincing Thor that taking Loki as his consort was a great way of ensuring peace between the realms. Laufey planned on telling Loki the truth. He did not want to suffer the wrath of Loki when Odin eventually had to tell Thor and Loki that they were to be married. It was more likely to happen than the Asgardian prince suddenly discovering that he was in love with someone who most thought was a man.

He let himself smile and carefully extended his hand to Loki's face, letting his index finger faintly trace a scar that began at the corner of his eye, by the bridge of his nose and curved down his cheek like a tear track. His son frowned and looked up at him with worried red eyes.

"Do you recall when I gave you these marks?" he asked and traced the identical scar on the other side of his face with his eyes. Loki nodded insecurely, still looking up at Laufey as if he was expecting him to do something highly unexpected, which was the truth when Laufey thought about it.

His entire family was antagonistic towards the Asgardians even though Loki claimed they were not as bad as Helblindi and Býleistr would have them be and now he was about to tell his son that he had Odin to thank for being alive. He would rather have Loki believe that he had changed his mind when he realized he did not want to lose a child as well as his consort, than tell him he only changed his mind when the All-Father had told him he would return the Casket if he let his son live.

Sighing he switched his trail of thought to the day he had given Loki the markings. He remembered the event well. Loki had not stopped asking him what the marks symbolized while Laufey had just smiled and shushed him. They were ancient, but the old ones would still recognize what they meant for Loki and all those who would try to seduce him or court him.

Laufey retreated into his own seat with a small sigh. "They are of the ancient language that not many know these days," he began, knowing that Loki had wondered what they meant ever since he had received them. "I gave them to you because they mean that you are betrothed to someone."

The sorcerer's eyebrows rose very high and his mouth opened and closed a few times without him saying anything. It was unnerving to watch his intelligent son struck silent by something, he always had words for every occasion. "What?"

"You are surprised," he leaned forward as he talked and Loki seemed to inch away sceptically. Loki was not compatible with normal Jotuns, he would never be able to have a physical relationship because he was too small and most Jotuns wished to someday have children, which Loki could not provide unless he let his future partner sleep with someone else.

"I thought that you deserved to be told the truth by me and not someone else, that is my I called you here."

His son's eyebrows drew together and he blinked a few times. "I am betrothed to someone. How? I am too small to ever be of more use than my magic abilities and my intellect." Loki's voice was full of suspicion and Laufey knew that he was uncomfortable at the thought of who he might be promised to.

"It is a long story; I will have to start at the very beginning."

Loki leaned back against the chair and propped his legs up on the table; face pinched in a very recognizable way that made Laufey even more nervous about telling him the truth. Loki was not known for being calm when he was truly angry and many remembered his most memorable tantrums.

"You may recall your brothers telling you that I originally left you in the temple when you were a newborn," it may have sounded blunt and cruel, but Loki was far too aware of what happened to all other runts and Laufey had long since admitted to him that he had intended for him to suffer the same fate as all the other diminutive Jotuns. He had been forced to tell Loki of it when Býleistr had told him in anger that their father should have just let him stay in the temple and die. Loki had been saddened by the revelation and hidden away for days, but he knew why his father had done it and also remembered how ill he had been as a child.

As he became older he read about the ones who were born smaller and weaker and realized that he was very lucky to still be alive. It was mostly because of his magic that seemed to slowly heal him whenever he was sick. Most Jotuns did not have that strong magic, so those who were born small and weak did not have the means to survive in the harsh world. He had long since forgiven his father for initially leaving him because he knew that it was meant as a kind thing so that he did not have to be ill and perhaps die young.

"When the All-Father had made me surrender he took me to the temple to watch as he took the Casket from us and found you by the pedestal. He recognized the symbols your mother had carved into you and knew that you were mine."

Laufey knew that as soon as the story involved Odin, Loki would become even more suspicious. He could already see his son thinking and continued to speak, wanting to tell him before he figured it out himself.

"He spoke of wanting to give the Casket back to us, but he needed a gesture to know that I would not wage war upon any of the other realms again so he asked me to let you live," Loki's frown deepened and he was about to say something, but Laufey gestured for him to stop. "He told me that as small as you were you would not be out of place in Asgard. I thought that he wanted to take you with him and raise you as his own or use you as a whipping boy, but he was speaking of something else, something that would greatly benefit both realms and eventually untie them. He -"

"He wanted me to marry Thor." Loki finished for him, eyes closed and leaning back against the back of the chair. Laufey could see Loki's Adams apple bobbing up and down and wondered if he should have let Odin take the consequences of Loki's eventual anger.

The king waited until his son opened his eyes again and pinned him with his angry eyes. "Is that why _I_ was allowed into Asgard while Helblindi, the crown prince, was not?" he questioned angrily. "Is that the only reason why you let me live? Because I am your bargaining chip?"

The wording made Laufey freeze where he sat. He had worked so hard to keep Loki alive, to resist the urge to let his son have peace and not be sick and dying anymore. He had not done any of it because Loki was his _bargaining piece_ or because he just wanted the Casket back and wanted to trade Loki for it. He had agreed to the marriage because to him it made no difference. His son could die before he grew up and therefore never marry Thor, or he could grow up and marry Thor, in which case the Casket was returned and he still had three sons.

"You were never a bargaining piece," he stated firmly and looked into Loki's eyes, holding his gaze. "I may have agreed at first because I wanted to someday have the Casket in our hands, but I did not know whether you would live or die. Making sure that you survived became a larger priority than making sure that you could return the Casket to us... I do not regret agreeing to let you live, Loki. I may have wanted to let you die, but I am glad that you proved us all wrong and that you are her in front of me today. I would rather have three children instead of just two."

He did not want to think of how things would have been if Loki had died. At first he had been deliberately distant towards his sickly son, but eventually he took to caring more for Loki and found himself understanding why Nál had spared him. He had not felt Loki grow within him and shared the bond that his consort had with Loki, but after he stopped viewing him as a disgrace and as someone meant to die, he grew to love the child just as he did Helblindi and Býleistr, perhaps even more.

_Laufey's treasure,_ that was what the people called him and after the Jotuns had learned to love Loki as they did Helblindi and Býleistr they sometimes called him _the treasure of Jotunheim_.

The prince swallowed thickly and looked away for a moment. "Does Thor know?" Laufey frowned when he realized that Loki had not raised his voice or shown how angry and displeased he was yet. He was usually quick to let everyone know when he was angry and wished to be left alone.

"No," Laufey admitted. "I do not know when the All-Father plans to tell him, but I wanted to be the one to tell you."

Suddenly Loki rose from his chair and started to run his hand through his hair, a nervous habit that he only did when he was thinking very hard or when he was very nervous. "How do you expect me to spend days with him, celebrating his birthday as if nothing has changed?" he asked as he started to pace in front of his father. "How do you expect me to-" he cut himself off before he could continue and closed his eyes, breathing heavily.

Laufey rose too and stood over his son and placed a comforting hand on his thin shoulder. "If I had not told you the All-Father would have come and told you to get ready for a wedding soon after Thor's coronation." It felt more like he was trying to make himself feel better, but he did not believe that Loki would have been happy had he not told him and Odin had instead when he announced that Thor would take him as a consort to unite the realms of Jotunheim and Asgard.

With a sigh Loki nodded slowly, head still cast downwards. "I understand, but that does not change anything about how I am to pretend I know nothing of it." He looked up with sad eyed and Laufey suddenly felt the urge to press him against his chest. "I assume the All-Father would not like Thor to know?" this time his voice had a cold edge to it and Laufey only nodded in reply before he removed his arm and bent down to Loki's level.

"We felt it would be harder for you to get along nicely if you knew that you were to be married to each other. We also wanted you to feel as free as you could."

The last part had been directed more at Thor who could whore with as many Asgardian women as he could, but Loki had tried to have relationships with Jotuns before, but they never ended especially well. Loki may be a shape shifter, but he would never be able to bear a fully Jotun child no matter what he did nor would he be able to sire a Jotun child. It made him unwanted to most Jotuns.

Loki scoffed at the statement. "I will not tell him," he told his father truthfully. "But do not think for one second that I approve of this being kept from me my whole life." He said and Loki fully believed that there would be consequences.

"I understand," Laufey told him. "I do not expect you to like it, but it has to happen, whether you like it or not. We cannot go another two decades without the Casket."

His son nodded mutely for a few seconds before he seemed to compose himself. "I need to go," he told Laufey and gritted his teeth. He wanted to talk more to Loki, but he knew that his son could not be kept in the room if he did not want to. "Thor will be waiting for me." He left as quickly as he could and Laufey was starting to regret his decision more than ever.

He made it as far as the exit of the palace before he was stopped by his brothers standing in his way. He clenched his teeth together and looked up at them without trying to shroud his emotions and they both glanced at each other worriedly.

"Is something the matter?" asked Býleistr with a worried frown on his face. "I thought you would have left already." Loki averted his eyes for a moment and wondered if it would be wise to tell his brothers of the marriage. They were still so antagonistic towards the Asgardians and as far as Loki knew, Helblindi would be crowned king soon after Thor as their father felt it would be appropriate to start a new era.

"It is nothing." He told them with as much of a smile as he could at the moment. Helblindi eyed him suspiciously before he bent down and placed a large hand on Loki's brow, feeling for a change in body temperature.

"I am not ill," he hissed at his brother and swatted the large hand away with an annoyed gesture. "I am merely in a bad mood." He said, but they did not believe him. It seemed his lying was not working today, which was unfortunate.

"Something must be wrong when you cannot even lie properly." Helblindi pointed out as he rose from the ground, towering over his younger brother once more. "When did you stop telling us things?" he asked and Loki really did not want to discuss this with his brothers at the moment, or feel guilty about not trusting them with all his secrets.

He teleported away from them before they could say something else. He reappered at the usual Bifrost site and squeezed his eyes shut before he called out to Heimdall.

_When did I stop telling you things? When I fell in love with an Asgardian._

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Despite his conversation with his mother, Thor could hardly contain his excitement as he stood inside the Bifrost dome awaiting Loki's arrival. He had not seen the other man for a month and it felt like far too long.

They had decided that it sounded dull to celebrate another birthday in Asgard in the same fashion they always had, and with much pleading, they had managed to get Odin to agree that they could go on a trip to Svartalfheim after Thor had read a bit more about the world. It seemed to be a place which could satisfy all of them and not just a few. It was always a problem when they went to another world because Thor, Volstagg, Fandral, Hogun and Sif enjoyed to hunt and battle while Loki preferred to read or practice sorcery. Svartalfheim was teeming with dangerous wildlife, but also with powerful magic and sorcerers which could interest Loki as well.

Heimdall slotted his sword into the Bifrost and the whole dome began to turn as it always did. It did not take long before the Jotun prince appeared in a glimmer of colours, smiling at his friend.

Thor wasted no time walking over to him and enveloping him in a friendly hug. "Happy Birthday!" Loki whispered without his usual cheerfulness and Thor pulled away to examine his friend.

He looked different than he had when he left for Jotunheim a month ago. He did not have the same mischief in his eyes, and he looked as if he did not want to be here. His skin was blue, like it seemed to constantly be these days. When he was younger he would make himself appear Asgardian around other people, but when he grew older he opted to walk around in his natural form instead.

When Loki said nothing more and only gave Thor a small, sad smile, the Prince truly knew that something must be wrong. It was Loki's way of telling him that he had something on his mind. To anyone else, he would lie and try to avoid the subject as best as he could, but when it came to Thor, he would be quiet and withdrawn; almost _asking_ the Asgardian to demand what was on his mind.

It made Thor's stomach turn.

"Let us go outside and wait for the others," Thor suggested, keeping a light hand on Loki's back as he ushered the other man outside, giving Heimdall a look that warned him not to eavesdrop in any way.

They sat down together, dangling their legs over the edge of the bridge, staring down into the other worlds. Loki remained silent, staring ahead with great intensity. Thor took a moment to brace himself before he sighed deeply.

"Has something happened?" he asked cautiously, trying to see any change in Loki's expression. He remained impassive for a few moments before he angled his face towards Thor and closed his eyes.

"I have been betrothed to another man since birth." he said quietly in an even voice that betrayed no emotion despite the fact that his eyebrows were furrowing slightly.

Thor felt his stomach drop and he had to swallow a couple of time to process it. He should have known that when he was ready to admit his feelings to Loki something like this would happen. At least Loki did not seem happy about announcing it, perhaps that meant Thor still had a chance and could steal Loki away from whoever this other man was.

The Jotun opened his red eyes and must have seen the completely surprised look on Thor's face because he sighed deeply and started to speak again. "Father told me today," The betrayal in his voice was evident and Thor wanted nothing more than to do _something_ to comfort his friend. "That is what these mean," he traced the tear track scars that ran from the corner of his eyes to the middle of his cheeks.

The scars had been a source of mystery over the years. Loki could tell them what all the other scars meant save for those. He had been given them shortly after his first visit to Asgard, but his father had not told him what they meant.

Thor finally found his voice again and frowned. "Do you – do you know who it is?" he asked slowly, hoping he was not treading too far into Loki's personal business, but he needed to know. He was afraid that Laufey had given Loki away to another Jotun that would not be kind to the small giant.

The Jotun shook his head, looking away from Thor into the abyss below. "No, he would not tell me." he mumbled and seemed to find a piece of silver stitched into his trousers very interesting.

Loki could lie, that was what he was known for in Asgard. Loki, the Lie-Smith or simply Silvertongue. It was one of his talents, being able to look anyone directly in the eyes and tell them a lie without them knowing. Thor and the others had many times been fooled by his skillful tongue and it was impossible to tell _when_ he was lying.

So why was he making it so obvious right now?

Thor wanted to ask him. If he was making it this obvious, he wanted Thor to know that he was lying, but at the same time he felt like this was something too personal to ask of the Jotun.

Whatever he would have said was interrupted by the loud arrival of Sif and The Warriors Three, as they had now dubbed themselves. In an instant Loki was composed and smiling brightly at his friends who were greeting him and congratulating Thor. The smile somehow managed to look completely genuine even though a moment ago Loki had clearly not been happy.

Fandral had his arm around Loki's shoulders, guiding him into the dome. "Are you coming?" the warrior shouted to Thor without turning around. Loki did turn his head and Thor could see what he was asking.

_Do not tell them._

Thor composed himself before he followed his friends. He _could_ be a decent liar if he wanted too, that was something he had learned from watching Loki. When the celebrating was over he would ask Loki again in hopes of an honest answer.

His plans had changed it seemed. If Loki was meant to marry someone else he did not want him to feel guilty that Thor was in love with him. He wanted to tell him the truth, but it would complicate matters and he did not know how. He would have to come up with something.

In the mean time, they had Elves and Dwarves to visit and demand adventures and magic from.

**Ah, lot's of angsting in this chapter. Can't say it will get any better in the next one. To avoid future confusion, Nidavellir is NOT a separate world in this story. I decided to make it an underground kingdom in Svartalfheim.**


	5. Not a new chapter!

Hello everyone, this is your very embarrassed author! I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post author's notes like this, but you guys deserve to hear from me after such a long time.

I am so sorry for not updating since July, I really am. I've been having the worst writer's block of all time, and school hasn't exactly helped me to write more. I also had a huge problem with one of the new chapters, but I believe I've figured it out now.

I have no intentions of abandoning this story because it's my baby, so you don't have to worry about that. I've also been able to write about 1500 words in two days and I take that as a good sign that I'm back in the game and I'm going to try to write as much as I can this weekend.

I want to thank everyone for being patient with me, and also welcome those who have started reading while I was having problems. There have been a lot of new ones and I am still surprised that so many people want to read something that I have written, so thank you all!

~Jaivaramongolid


End file.
